


going too fast (joshler)

by slowtowns



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: BoyxBoy, Fanfiction, I hope, M/M, Song fic, bxb - Freeform, josh and tyler are friends, josh dun - Freeform, joshler - Freeform, joshler oneshot, joshler teenage, joshua dun - Freeform, joshxtyler, song fic like forest fic, twenty one pilots - Freeform, tyler joseph - Freeform, tylerxjosh, you won't cry though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 01:08:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7993033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slowtowns/pseuds/slowtowns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a slowtown song fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	going too fast (joshler)

Tyler lived in the perfect neighbourhood, everything was simple. Nothing seemed to change either, it was actually quite boring for the boy who grew up playing with match box cars on his large concrete driveway. Sometimes playing basketball with his brothers would be fun, they'd play until the street lights came on and they were forced to come inside.

That was until high school came along, then everything turned stressful. Tyler never had enough time to play basketball anymore and he was too old to play with toy cars. 

With the troubles of school and loneliness Tyler found himself dreaming of a better place, a place where time didn't go so fast. It was a place where Tyler could be a child again and ride his bike with his brothers down the empty streets of his neighbourhood. Tyler often found himself dreaming about this place a lot, a town where things were slower.

It was an overcast afternoon when Tyler heard the familiar sound of a basketball bouncing on the ground of the local court. Tyler would often lay down in the middle of the empty courts and day dream about his better place. The courts were always untouched so it surprised him when the sound of a basketball hit the ground to his far left, but with a brave heart Tyler continued to lay down and pretend he couldn't hear the ball approaching him.

"A-Are you alright?", someone asked the brunet who was sprawled out on the floor of the court.

Tyler kept his eyes on the clouds but they were instantly drawn to a curly haired boy's face who stared down at him with the slightest confusion. The boy's red hair fell in his face as he stared down at Tyler, he had the basketball propped up against his hip and supported it with his arm.

"Yes, I'm just thinking about a better place", Tyler mumbled and his eyes went back to the clouds that were passing by faster than ever.

The red haired boy sighed and Tyler glanced over at him when he put his ball down and laid down on the court beside him. 

"I'm Josh", he said and tilted his head to look at Tyler who was now lost in the boy's brown eyes.

"Tyler", Tyler replied in almost what seemed like a gasp because the red haired boy smiled.

His smile was so genuine, the ends of his eyes crinkled and the smile revealed rows of perfectly white teeth. Tyler was already captivated by the mysterious boy who'd just joined him on the courts that hadn't been used in years. It made Tyler wonder if Josh was new to the neighbourhood, it would explain why he was using the old courts that Tyler used as an escape.

"So what's this better place like?", Josh asked with a smirk before staring up at the clouds that finally slowed.

"It's...uh...it's slower", Tyler mumbled. He couldn't take his eyes off the boy who was now concentrating on the clouds in grey sky that'd soon turn to a starry night's sky within a couple of hours.

"What do you mean?", Josh asked he seemed to be very interested in the brunet who was sat alone in the middle of the basketball court.

"Everything is too fast now, don't you ever want to wake up and be in a place where everything is slow. Where you don't have the stress of school and the people around you who don't seem to notice that the days aren't long anymore".

Josh had never thought about life in the way Tyler did, but Tyler's way of thinking was too beautiful to ignore. The redhead thought about it for a while, the scene turned into two boys laying on the courts with the clouds being their only view as they thought about a slower life.

"I want to be in slowtown", Josh smiled after an eternity of silence. Time for Tyler already seemed to slow with Josh by his side and he too smiled, a smile that was finally a real one.

"Me too Josh".

Tyler started going to the court more often, he thought that if he went there he'd find Josh where things could be slow for a while. Josh was always at the court, sometimes he arrived before Tyler and the brunet would hide just so he could watch the boy play basketball with himself for a while. The days they went to the court seemed to last longer, Tyler didn't notice it at first but after a week things slowed down a little. 

It was a different feeling for Tyler, and he loved it. He loved being around Josh, the red haired boy's presence was just enough for Tyler to feel normal and child-like again.

"Do you want to come back to my house?", Josh asked one afternoon when the boys were doing their usual thing of staring up at the clouds that gradually seemed to slow with Josh around.

"Sure", Tyler smiled and let Josh take his hand to help him up from the floor of the broken court.

There wasn't much talk between the boys as they walked to Josh's house, but it wasn't far either. When they arrived at Josh's house Tyler heard shouting before they even walked inside. Tyler noticed Josh's cheeks flush red and he seemed hesitant to let him in.

"I'm sorry about them, they fight sometimes", Josh smiled apologetically.

Josh opened the door and tried to hurry Tyler to his room where the shouting wouldn't be too loud. Tyler saw what seemed to be Josh's parents fighting, they were yelling at each other aggressively and the brunet would be lying if he said he didn't feel scared. They were shouting about money and something about Josh's father not helping out but Tyler didn't want to eavesdrop.

"Do you want to watch a movie? It's what I do to block them out", Josh confessed embarrassedly but Tyler only nodded and smiled.

Tyler let Josh pick the movie and they climbed onto his bed, they were distant at first. Tyler felt like he was hanging off the bed because he wasn't sure if Josh wanted him any closer to him.

"I don't bite", Josh commented when the beginning of the lion king started and it was Tyler's turn to be embarrassed.

The brunet came closer to Josh who hesitantly wrapped his arm around Tyler's waist. Josh was Tyler's distraction from the movie, he would usually love to watch the lion king but Josh was so much more interesting that a child's movie.

"You're missing out on the movie, simba's dad is about to die", Josh said in a whisper and peered down at Tyler whose face was centimetres apart from his own.

"You're better than the movie", Tyler chuckled and found it incredibly adorable how Josh's cheeks burned red like his curly hair.

The tension between the two was almost unbearable and just as Josh built up the courage to begin to lean in a glass smashing from downstairs caused him to pull away. He stared at his closed door with concern and Tyler gave him a reassuring smile before he got up to check on his parents.

Tyler sat in Josh's room alone only a couple of seconds before he returned with an apologetic smile that was trying to hide his fear.

"T-Tyler do you t-think you could climb out the window and m-maybe go home", Josh's eyes turned glassy too quickly and Tyler got off the bed to hug his only friend.

"It's okay Josh, see you tomorrow okay?", Tyler asked, his voice was muffled in Josh's shoulder.

Josh nodded and waved Tyler goodbye before his cautiously climbed out the window and down the odd bricks of the old house Josh had. He made it down and stared up at Josh's window once again before leaving for his house. Tyler knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight while Josh was in danger, he wanted to do something but he didn't know how to without possibly putting him in more trouble.

As expected Tyler didn't sleep and when the sun finally showed again Tyler raced to the courts, he couldn't help but feel like things were slightly fast again. Tyler felt his stomach drop when he didn't see Josh there, he tried to believe that it was because it was too early in the morning. 

So Tyler waited, his mother got concerned and called him about having something to eat. He couldn't tell her about what was happening with Josh, Tyler only told her that he liked him very much and he just wants to know if Josh is okay. Tyler's mother dropped him off some food and went back home, it was boring but Tyler was too anxious to think about anything other than Josh.

His mind was fixated on all the possible reasons why Josh wasn't showing and it made him sick. The street lights came ok faster than Tyler had expected and he knew it was time for him to leave, the street lights was his curfew. Slowly Tyler left the court, his fear for his beloved friend only grew by the second and when he made it home the night went too fast.

The next day Tyler went to the court, he waited all day and strangely things were getting faster. 

Tyler went to the court everyday for a week until the days felt like hours, he had had enough of waiting. Things were going too fast, Tyler wanted Josh, he wanted to be with Josh in slowtown where everything is perfect and not too fast.

The brunet tried desperately to remember where Josh lived, he wished he wasn't so distracted by Josh on the day they walked to his house because maybe he may have been able to remember where it was now. Tyler went down every street trying to find a familiar house or neighbouring houses, his days of waiting at the court turned into riding on his bike down every street desperately trying to find something similar to what Josh's house looked like.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when Tyler's mother called him just as he was about to get on his bike, she sounded concerned so he hurried back to the kitchen where she was. His mother was cooking pancakes when he came into the kitchen, she had an old fashioned apron tied around her neck and waist and she smiled sympathetically when she noticed her son in the doorway.

"Tyler how about you have a day at home today?", she asked with a hopeful tone.

"N- What about Josh?", Tyler asked, his mother instantly noticed his saddened expression.

"You have to believe that Josh is okay", his mother began and put down the spatula for the pancakes.

"He's probably going through a lot at the moment and doesn't have time to come to the court anymore", she continued with a softened tone.

"It's been a month mom", Tyler paused to stop himself from crying, "he isn't okay".

"Okay go, but be back soon", she gave into her son and he flashed a small smile before leaving on his bike and riding down streets he'd been down many times before.

Tyler rode down all the streets he'd seen before, nothing looked new, nothing reminded him of Josh. It was then that Tyler lost it, he fell off his bike and broke down into tears. He missed Josh, he missed everything being slow. The afternoons at the court were what held Tyler together, without Josh Tyler was back to everything being fast. Everything would take off without him if Josh wasn't by his side.

"I need you Josh, things are too fast without you", Tyler cried and brought his knees to his face so he could hide his puffy eyes and red face.

"Take me to slowtown", Tyler whispered and wiped his nose, he was going home.

When Tyler rode home he noticed a police car outside of his house, he wiped his eyes once again and leant his bike up against the wall of his house. He came inside and was greeted to two officers and his mother's arms around him, Tyler was confused, he wondered if maybe they'd been robbed, he hoped his mom was okay.

"This is for you Tyler", she smiled with red eyes, it was only now that he realised she'd been crying, "It's from Josh".

Tyler instantly looked at the note in her hand when she'd said Josh's name. He took the note from her and opened it, 

Dear Tyler

"I wish I got to kiss you that afternoon my father smashed a bottle over my mother's head. It was so embarrassing to have to watch you climb out of that window, it was so rude. Turns out my brother called the police, I called the ambulance and they arrived quickly. 

The damage to my mother was life threatening, she's probably still in a coma as you're this. My father went to jail and I was split up from siblings, I didn't want to go to a different home. I didn't want to leave you Tyler, because the truth is that I love you Tyler. Since that day you started talking about that better place I fell in love hoping that maybe one day we can finally be in our own slowtown. But sometimes things don't go to plan and soon enough the police got me too, I asked to see you before we left but they said I'd be able to write to you. 

Please write me back or things might become fast again, I want to be in slowtown Tyler, I want to be in slowtown with you."

"Where is he?", Tyler sounded more demanding than he'd planned to but he couldn't careless.

"We can take you to him", one of the officers said and Tyler's face lit up with a sense of hope he'd almost lost.

"Take me to Josh", Tyler smiled as he clutched the note in his hands.

"Take us to slowtown", Tyler whispered in a hushed voice that he knew only he would ever hear.


End file.
